Method of conserving and restoring oil paintings



METHOD OF CONSERVING AND RESTORING OIL PAINTINGS Filed May 13, 1963 2Sheets-Sheet 1 8 FlN|S |r-| a PAIN GROUND SUPPORT J MASONITE PAIPAINTING SUPPORT MASONITE Invasion- GzwiavD.KZaaumm 5 W, WS'FM June 28,1966 G. D. KLIMANN 3,258,376

METHOD OF CONSERVING AND RESTORING OIL PAINTINGS Filed May 15, 1963 2Sheets-Sheet 2 PAIN PAINTING SUPPORT ALUM U PAINTING SUPPORT AX ALUMI M122191221302 awsi'av 12 KW 229W, 4% & W

flifirrney United States Patent Gustav D. Klimann, 15 Wellesley Road,Beverly, Mass.

Filed May 13, 1963, Ser. No. 279,953 6 Claims. (Cl. l5694) Thisapplication is a continuation-in-part of my application Serial No.40,092, filed June 30, 1960, now US. Patent 3,096,194. The inventionrelates to a method of restoring oil paintings and the like, and moreparticularly to a method for bonding new backings of appropriatesupporting materials, such as aluminum, to an oil painting during theprocess of conserving and restoring the painting.

Inthe above-identified patent, I disclosed a method of conserving oilpaintings and the like by impregnating the painting with varying amountsand kinds of suitable resins and waxes under the influence of heat andsubstantial vacuum. The method permitted maximum cleaning, conservationand restoration of the painting at a minimum risk of harm due toaccident, uneven heat and/ or pressure, however, the cleaned andrestored painting was still exposed to the deleterious effects ofdimensional changes produced by variations of temperature and humidity,canvas stretching, frame warping, etc. Although the impregnation of thepainting by the waxes and resins during the cleaning and restorationprocess increased the dimensional stability of the painting, preferablya new supporting material should be bonded to the painting to providethe desired rigidity and dimensional stability under varyingenvironmental conditions.

It is therefore an object of my invention to bond 21 new supportingmaterial to an oil painting or the like while cleaning and restoring thepainting according to the method disclosed in my co-pending application.

It is another object of my invention to affix a fresh linen backing tothe new supporting material and the painting while bonding the newsupporting material to the painting during the process of cleaning andconserving the 7 painting as disclosed in my co-pending application.

It is a further object of my invention to add moisture to an extremelydry painting during the bonding and cleaning process. 4

These and other objects and features of my invention will best beunderstood from the following description and drawings, in which:

FIG. 1 is a side elevation of an oil painting in diagrammatic form;

FIG. 2 is a diagrammatic view of a rubber sandwich" showing the newsupporting material and fresh linen backing;

FIG. 3 is another diagrammatic view of the rubber sandwich showing amodification thereof containing a moistened layer of wet strength paper;and,

FIG. 4 is a diagrammatic view of the rubber sandwich showing the newsupporting material employed without the addition of a fresh linenbacking.

Turning now to the drawings, FIG. 1 shows in diagrammatic form an oilpainting indicated generally as 2. A supporting material 4, such ascanvas or linen, is normally sized with a gesso to provide a ground orbase 6 for the layers of paint 8 which form the shapes and colors of thepainting.- The completed painting may then be coated with a protectivefinishing layer 10 of varnish or a similar material. Although the oilpainting 2 is shown in FIG. 1 with four distinct layers, it should beunderstood that all of these layers are not required to produce an oilpainting. For example, the paint 8 may be applied directly to thesupporting material 4 without an intermediate ground or base layer 6between the support 4 and paint layers 8. Similarly, the painting may ormay not have a protective coating 10 applied to the paint layers 8.

"ice

For purposes of clarity, the oil painting 2' shown in FIGS. 2, 3 and 4has been divided into two layers i.e., the painting support and thepaint itself, however, it should be further understood that my method ofbonding a new supporting material to a painting is suitable for anycanvas or linen painting regardless of the type, composition or numberof layers of paint and other materials rvhich have been applied to thesurface of the canvas or men.

FIG. 2 shows in diagrammatic form the construction of a rubber sandwichas defined in my above-mentioned co-pending application. I lay a sheetof pure gum rubber 12 on the heating table disclosed in my copendingapplication. Then, centered in horizontal sandwiched relationimmediately above the rubber sheet, are placed the following elements,bottom to top: A sheet of Masonite 14, having a thickness ofapproximately A and laid smooth side up; a sheet of semi-absorbentpaper, such as kraft brown paper 16; a sheet of glazed insulationpaper18, glassine type; a sheet of fresh linen 20 coated with a layer ofadhesive wax 22; a sheet of aluminum 24; a layer of adhesive wax 26coated on the reverse side of the painting to be cleaned and conserved(shown as painting support 28 and paint layer 30); a sheet of wetstrength paper 32; a sheet of wax impregnated paper 34, such as butcherspaper; .a sheet of glazed insulation paper 36, glassine type; a sheet ofsemi-absorbent paper 38, such as kraft brown paper; a sheet of Masonite40 having a thickness of approximately fii" and laid smooth side down;and a sheet of pure gum rubber 42.

When the rubber sandwich is subjected to the influence of heat and asubstantial vacuum, as disclosed in my copending application, the newsupporting material 24 is adhesively bonded to the rear surface of thepainting support 28 and the fresh linen backing 20 is similarly bondedto both the new supporting material 24 and the uncovered portion of therear surface of the painting support 28.

The adhesive wax shown in layers 22 and 26 can be any one of a number ofwell known wax adhesives because the composition of the wax adhesive isnot critical. I have found that the wax-gum Elemi adhesive described inSection 120.09 of The Treatment of Pictures by Morton C. Bradley, Jr.,Cambridge Art Technology, Cambridge, Massachusetts, 1950 is well suitedfor my bonding process.

Although the wax adhesive can be coated on either the upper surface ofthe new supporting material 24 or the reverse side of the paintingsupport 28 prior to assembling the sandwich, the latter method ispreferable because a greater penetration of the painting support isachieved by first coating the painting support with a hot wax adhesiveand then subjecting the painting to the influences of heat andsubstantial vacuum during the cleaning and restoration process. It ispossible to maintain the original selvage of the oil painting whilebonding a new supporting material and fresh backing to the painting byproperly dimensioning each item. As shown in FIG. 2, the fresh linenbacking 20 extends beyond the edges of the new supporting material 24and is substantially the same size as the painting support 28 thuspermitting the entire rear surface of the painting to be covered with afresh linen backing 20, while bonding the new supporting material 24 tothe painting only in the area directly beneath the paint itself.

FIG. .3 shows a modification of the bonding method applicable topaintings which are extremely dry. With such paintings it is desirableto introduce into the painting a controlled amount of moisture duringthe cleaning and restoration process. This is accomplished byinterposing a layer of moistened wet strength paper 44 between the newsupporting material 24 and the Wax coated painting support 28.

If a fresh linen backing is not desired, the new supporting material canbe bonded to the painting by employing the sandwich constructions shownin FIG. 4. Although the fresh supporting material 24 is shown in FIGS.2, 3 and 4 as aluminum, other materials such as fiberglass are suitablefor this process and I do not intend to limit my invention to anyspecific material, but rather to broadly claim the concept of bonding anew supporting material to an oil painting during the cleaning andrestoration process disclosed in my co-pending application.

Numerous modifications and preferred embodiments of my invention willnow be apparent to. those skilled in the art and therefore, it is notintended to confine the invention to the precise form shown herein, butrather to limit it in scope to the appended claims.

Having thus described and disclosed the preferred embodiments of myinvention, what I now claim as new and desire to secure by LettersPatent of the United States is:

1. A method of bonding a new support to oil paintings and the likeduring the cleaning, conservation and restoration of the paintingscomprising the steps of coatingthe non-painted surface of the paintingsupport with a wax'adhesive; placing successively above the painting, asheet of wet-strength paper, a sheet of wax-impregnated paper, a sheetof insulation paper, a sheet of semi-absorbent paper and a substantiallyrigid panel; placing successively beneath the painting, a sheet of newsupport material, a sheet of insulation paper, a sheet of semiabsorbentpaper and a substantially rigid panel placing the material's thussandwiched together within a substantially airtight, collapsiblecontainer; evacuating the air from within said container; raising thetemperature within said container and subsequently permitting saidcontainer to cool; releasing the vacuum created in said container;opening said container and disassembling the said sandwiched materialsand removing the painting and stripping the wet-strength papertherefrom.

2. A method of bonding a new support to oil paintings and the likeduring the cleaning, conservation and restoration of the paintings asset forth in claim 1 in which said sheet of new support materialcomprises a sheet of aluminum.

3. A method of bonding a new support to oil paintings and the likeduring the cleaning, conservation and restoration of the paintings asset forth in claim 1 in which said sheet of new support materialcomprises a sheet of fiberglass.

4. A method of bonding a new support and a fresh backing to oilpaintings and the like during the cleaning, conservation and restorationof the paintings comprising the steps of coating the non-painted surfaceof the painting support with a wax adhesive; placing successively abovethe painting, a sheet of wet-strength paper, a

sheet of wax-impregnated paper, a sheet of insulation paper, a sheet ofsemi-absorbent paper, and a substantially rigid panel; placingsuccessively beneath the painting, a sheet of new support material, asheet of fresh backing material having a layer of wax adhesive coated onone side thereof, said adhesively coated side being positioned incontact with said new support material, a sheet of insulation paper, asheet of semi-absorbent paper and a substantially rigid panel; placingthe materials thus sandwiched together within a substantially airtight,collapsible container; evacuating the air from within said container;raising the temperature within said container and subsequentlypermitting said container to cool; releasing the vacuum created in saidcontainer; opening said container and disassembling the said sandwichedmaterials and removing the painting and stripping the wetstrength papertherefrom.

5. A method of bonding a new support and a fresh backing to oilpaintings and the like during the cleaning, conservation and restorationof the paintings as set forth in claim 4 in which said sheet of freshbacking material comprises a sheet of linen.

6. A method of bonding a new support and a fresh backing to oilpaintings and the like during the cleaning, conservation and restorationof the paintings comprising the steps of coating the non-painted surfaceof the painting support with a wax adhesive; placing successively abovethe painting, a sheet of wet-strength paper, a sheet of wax-impregnatedpaper, a sheet of insulation paper, a sheet of semi-absorbent paper anda substantially rigid panel; placing successively beneath the painting,a sheet of new support material, said support material havingsubstantially the same dimensions as the painted portion of saidpainting, a sheet of fresh backing material having substantially thesame dimensions as the painting support including the selvage thereof,said fresh backing having a layer of wax adhesive coated on one sidethereof and being positioned with the adhesively coated side in contactwith said new support material, a sheet of insulation paper, a sheet ofsemi-absorbent paper and a substantially rigid panel; placing thematerials thus sandwiched together within a substantially airtight,collapsible container; evacuating the air from within said container;raising the temperature within said container and subsequentlypermitting said container to cool; releasing the vacuum created in saidcontainer; opening said container and disassembling the said sandwichedmaterials and removing the painting and stripping the wet-strength papertherefrom.

References Cited by the Examiner UNITED STATES PATENTS 2,073,802 3/1937Oliver 1172 2,568,463 9/1951 Reynolds 156-152 2,670,554 3/1954 Francisl6l89 2,681,527 6/1954 Sundt 16193 EARL M. BERGERT, Primary Examiner. H.F. EPSTEIN, Assistant Examiner.

1. A METHOD OF BONDING A NEW SUPPORT TO OIL PAINTINGS AND THE LIKEDURING THE CLEANING, CONSERVATION AND RESTORATION OF THE PAINTINGSCOMPRISING THE STEPS OF COATING THE NON-PAINTED SURFACE OF THE PAINTINGSUPPORT WITH A WAX ADHESIVE; PLACING SUCCESSIVELY ABOVE THE PAINTING, ASHEET OF WET-STRENGTH PAPER, A SHEET OF WAX-IMPREGNATED PAPER, A SHEETOF INSULATION PAPER, A SHEET OF SEMI-ABSORBENT PAPER AND A SUBSANTIALLYRIGID PANEL; PLACING SUCCESSIVELY BENEATH THE PAINTING, A SHEET OF NEWSUPPORT MATERIAL, A SHEET OF INSULATION PAPER, A SHEET OF SEMIABSORBENTPAPER AND A SUBSTANTIALLY RIGID PANEL PLACING THE MATERIAL THUSSANDWICHED TOGETHER WITHIN A SUBSTANTIALLY